An afternoon with my tribe

 I went to visit my dear friend who had recently been in hospital, and took her flowers and, having baked before breakfast, half a dozen Blueberry Muffins.  It was good to see her again and we had a good natter.  She had lost weight whilst in hospital though, and since she was pencil thin to start with, that was not a good career move.  She really loved the flowers I took her, and had obviously sat and rested as she had read both the books I got Mr Amazon to send her last week.

Once over the border into Carmarthenshire, the scenery was very familiar, but I have to say, I prefer it where I am as it is wilder.  Tam, Rosie and I will be sampling a bit of the wilder part on Saturday as we are meeting up in the Elan Valley as there is a one-day Celtic Rainforest Event - yes, we do have rainforests in Wales, but probably not what you are seeing in your mind's eye!  Forget the jungle sort and think of natural Welsh woodland of Oak, Ash, Birch and Hazel crammed into steep river valleys in mid and North Wales and a haven for wildlife, especially rare lichens and mosses and there's just 2% of forest like this left in the UK.  We plan to do a walk (probably on our own though as the guided one will be busy and not our sort of thing), and check out the Horse Logging, metalwork, wood turning and food stands.  Parking will probably be an issue though! 

Anyway, after seeing Pam, I drove the couple of miles back to my quiltmaking class.  I saw a friend there I'd not seen since before Covid. It was nearly like old times, but a couple of faces missing as on holiday.  I worked diligently on my new quilt and sewed 3 blocks - doesn't sound much like an afternoon's work, but there was chatting, and I took my time and tried to be as accurate as possible.  After my first time back when, used to utter quiet here (apart from birdsong), my brain found it hard to shut out the background noise and chatter, I was able to get on with things again and it's always lovely to see what the others are working on.  Because we have a teacher, she encourages us to try different techniques, and does the occasional Sunday class which shows a new project.  The recent one was a lovely design called Eclipse.  I am sure Alex won't mind me sharing her example, which is still a work in progress.  It's a scrap-buster.

I've just been round the garden taking photos.  The roses are all bursting into bloom now, and I noticed that after the rain, my Paul's Himalayan Musk (which here climbs a tall tree and spreads across two others) has come into bloom as well.  They are all a joy to see.  Later on I will try and shoehorn in the third and final part of my visit to Tewkesbury Abbey.  Have a good day all.